Live Art

Date + Time

Location

At multiple locations

Overview

With art by Mona Caron and an essay by Aaron Shurin, this broadside map juxtaposes the habitats of local butterflies with the shifting locations of queer public space. By paralleling two dozen butterflies with both vibrant and lost LGBTQ landmarks, a particularly shimmering flight pattern of San Francisco denizens comes to light.

The Monarchs and Queens broadside map is available while supplies last at City Lights Books (261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco), Green Apple (506 Clement Street, San Francisco), Green Arcade (1680 Market Street, San Francisco), Modern Times (888 Valencia Street, San Francisco), and the SFMOMA MuseumStore (151 Third Street, San Francisco).

In this opening celebration and introduction to the Infinite City project, Solnit is joined by Rumsey, president of Cartography Associates, to discuss the relevance of cartography in the modern world, the collecting of maps, and the rich histories they can embody. Shurin reads from the "Monarchs and Queens" map, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bless the occasion and give away the broadsides.

Butterfly Fly-by on Bayview Hill
Liam O'Brien, lepidopterist, Nature in the City

Local butterfly expert Liam O'Brien guides us on a tour of Bayview Hill. The area is a local butterfly hotspot in July and a great place to witness a wide variety of butterflies as they search for their perfect mate, also known as hill-topping. Butterflies we are likely to spot include the Anise Swallowtail, Echo Blue, California Ringlet, Painted Lady, and Woodland Skipper.

After hill-topping with the butterflies, join us at the top of another hill, this one overlooking the Castro, for a thought-provoking afternoon linking together the shifting cultures of gays and butterflies. In discussion will be poet Shurin, who authored the "Monarchs and Queens" broadside text; Boyd, the author of Wide-Open Town, a history of queer culture in San Francisco before 1965; and Monroe, park ranger at the Muir Woods National Monument, who will tie together this map's many fancy flyers.

Admission + Ticketing

Events at SFMOMA are free with museum admission. Other events in this series are free and open to the public.